UConn trio look to make history at WNBA draft

Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck capped off their college careers in historic fashion, winning a fourth straight national championship.

UConn's trio could be part of another first Thursday night if they are taken with the top three picks in the WNBA draft. No school has ever had three players taken with the first three picks in league history. In fact it's never happened in any of the major sports, according to information provided to the WNBA by the Elias Sports Bureau

The WNBA has had two of the first three players come from the same school on three separate occasions. The closest was in 2002 when the Huskies had players taken first, second, fourth and sixth.

Stewart, the three-time AP Player of the Year, is a lock to go first to Seattle. Jefferson is expected to be taken second by San Antonio. She is from Texas and would fit in well for the Stars, who lost guard Danielle Robinson to an Achilles tendon injury.

While Stewart and Jefferson are almost sure things, Tuck going third is the question mark. The Connecticut Sun have the third and fourth pick and they sure would make a lot of the Connecticut fan base happy by drafting her.

Here are some other tidbits from the WNBA Draft:

FORGOING ELIGIBLITY: For the second straight season, the draft had some unexpected entrants. Michigan State's Aerial Powers and Tuck both decided to forgo a year of eligibility to enter the draft. Last season Jewell Loyd and Amanda Zahui B. declared for the draft before their eligibility was up.

MOTHER/DAUGHTER: Texas center Imani Boyette could be the first daughter of a former WNBA player to make a roster. Her mom Pam McGee was the No. 2 pick in the 1997 draft and played for Sacramento and the Los Angeles Sparks. Yolanda Griffith's daughter Alicia DeVaughn attended training camps in 2014 and 2015 but didn't make the regular season roster.

LIVE DRAFT: For the third straight season the WNBA will have its draft at the Mohegan Sun. It's open to Connecticut Sun season ticket holders as well as any fan who brings a donation of a canned good. With the Sun having two lottery picks as well as the UConn trio, there should be a good crowd on hand.

WELCOME LISA: New WNBA President Lisa Borders will preside over her first official league event. Borders was hired in February after former president Laurel J. Richie left in December.

''This draft is our opportunity to showcase the new rookies that come into our system,'' Borders said. ''This class is a new pool of extraordinary talent and we're excited to showcase them.''

BULLISH: South Florida guard Courtney Williams is looking to be the first player from the school drafted in the first round. She is the only player in school history to have over 2,000 points, 900 rebounds and 300 assists.

''I can see her going as high as three or four to Connecticut,'' ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said. ''But . I don't think she will fall out of the first round. She is too much of a talent.''

South Florida alum Wanda Guyton was picked fifth in the elite draft portion of the inaugural WNBA draft in 1997.

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